Success
Liberation
After searching for songs that related to success and liberation, I realized that there seemed to be far more songs about success. I think that this is because in American culture, so much of our lives revolve around work and making money. In the United States, status in society is largely based on material values and how well you are able to provide for yourself and your family. Many of the songs I chose for success involve being wealthy and living a life of luxury, such as in “Glamorous,” by Fergie and “Billionaire,” by Travie Mccoy.
Included in my songs for liberation was one by Faith Hill titled “There Will Come a Day.” This song involves the Christian idea of salvation, and how everyone will eventually be at peace, which is very similar to the concept of Moksha in Hinduism.
I was surprised at how difficult it was to find songs that related to liberation. I believe that is because of the cultural differences between Hinduism and American pop culture. The ultimate goal in Hinduism for most people is Moksha, where you are released from your karmic bonds. While in American culture, the ultimate goal of most people is to achieve a comfortable, successful life, people of the Hindu religion spend their entire lives working towards achieving Moksha, hence this is a much more prominent theme in their culture.
I really liked your discussion about the goal of Hinduism; it really put it in basic terms which made it easy to relate it to American culture.
ReplyDeleteYour song choice and analysis of some of the songs made it apparent that success and liberation can be interpreted in a few ways. Be it a cultural or personal form, each person has a particular way of thinking and living which will lead them to a sort of peace in the the end.
I really enjoyed reading your blog and your approach to reading how American pop has sort of similarities to the Hindu aims.